Charles o



l lo'ModeL) GI O 4 I LOADING .AND DISGHARGING GUNS.

No. 424,043. Patented Mar. 25, 1390. I

N. PETERS. Phuwulhngnphar. William. D.C

UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFICE Y oHARLEs 0. YALE,'0E NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HERBERT P. BROWN AND MARIE LoUIsE YALE, OF sA E- PLAoE;

I LOADING AND DISCHARGING GUNS.-

SPECIFlCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 424,043, dated March 25, 1890;

Application filed November 6, 1888. Serial No. 290,022. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that LCHARLES O..YALE, a citizen of the United States, residing in'the city, county, and State of New York, have ini vented certain new and usefullmprovements in'Loading and Discharging Guns, of which the following is a description in such full, clear, and exact terms as will enable any one skilled in the art to which my invention appertains or with which it is most nearly connected to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings, making part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,

My invention consists of a novel manner of placing the explosive charge in and combining it with the breech of a gun, andhas for its object, among other things, to diminish the cost of constructing guns, and especially heavy ordnance, 'to decrease their liability to fracture and burst, and to permit the use of high explosives in guns designed and constructed for ordinary gunpowder.

My invention is principally designed to be all kinds, and permits a more extended use of high explosives-such as dynamite-for the explosive charge.

heretofore been used instead of gunpowder in heavy guns; but while theirprojectile efficiency is'very great, on account of the very high rate of expansion of the gases generated at their discharge, and also on account of the 3 5 almost instantaneous character of their explosion, very heavy and specially-constructed guns have been required for their use to withstand the sudden shock of the explosion, and the results have been only partially satisfac- 40 tory. Among other things, my invention is :1 designed to decrease the cost of guns in which such high explosives are usedand to increase their .efliciency.

As is now well'understood, in the use of gunpowder or other explosive agents the great heat generated at the instant of the explosion and the dynamic force incident thereto act like driving millions of wedges against theinterior surface of the barrel, which sooner or later fracture or crack the metal and destroy the utility of the gun. By

used in connection with heavy ordnanceof my invention the effect of this action. is greatly decreased and the life of the gun is ting the use of lighter and less expensive barrels.

My invention consists in placing the explosive charge ofthe gun so that it may be wholly or, partially surrounded by a cushion of air or other elastic gaseous envelope when it is in place for firing, and so that it shall at no points of its side touch the interior concave walls of the gun-barrel. As air is a very correspondingly increased, besides permitpoor conductor of heat, the destructiveac- Q tion of the very high temperature incident to an explosion is to a large extent obviated. As air is to a very high degree elastic, the effect of the shock of the explosion is greatly diminished and is spread evenly over the whole interior surface of that part of the bar rel subjected to it. vThe elastic cushion of 'air also adds to the eifectiveness of the projectile capacity of the charge by a more ad vantageous application of the dynamic force of the explosion. The cushion or envelope of air may be employed at atmospheric or at any other suitable pressure Compressed air may be" more advantageously employed in some instances and may readily be obtained High explosives-such as dynamite-hav cartridge of powder, for instance, let there be suspended or placed by any suitable means, I

centrally, a cartridge'containing dynamite of a projectile capacity equal .to the capacity of the gunpowder cartridge which the chamber was designed to receive. As dynamite is much more powerful than gunpowder for a given bulk, the dynamite cartridge will be considerably smaller than the breech-chamber behind the projectile. rounded-on its sidesand behind with an air space or cushion. I prefer also. to leave a small air-space between the front end of the cartridge and therear end of the projectile; but this may b'e"dispeiised with. By thus placing. and arranging the dynamite cartridge Itwill therefore be surit will be seen that while the elhciency of the gun is not diminished, but is increased, its life will be, on account of the considerations herein pointed out, considerably augmented. If a larger charge of dynamite be employed, a greater efficiency can be obtained without decreasing the normal life of the gun.

In the accompanying drawings one. means of utilizing my invention is illustrated.

Figure 1 of said drawings illustrates in 1011- gitudinal section a gun-barrel containing the projectile and cartridge; and Fig. 2 illustrates, partly in perspective and partly in section, the projectile, cartridge, and means for centering and firing the same.

The following is a description of the devices illustrated in the drawings:

A is a gun-barrel bored to the proper size.

B B are re-enforcing rings to strengthen its breech.

D is a breech-plug screwing in the breech of the gun.

E is the projectile, and II the cartridge. As a suitable means of maintaining the cartridge in its proper position with relation to the projectile and the inclosing-walls of the gunbarrel, I have shown the projectile provided with a central projection F at its rear end and the cartridge provided with a tube G, projecting from its front end, made of suitable material-such as paper-slipping over and fitting the projection F of the projectile. I have also shown the cartridge provided with a ring or washerI of suitable materialsueh as paper-which surrounds the cartridge, and which maintains it at its proper position centrally within the barrel. As a means of exploding the cartridge, I have shown a rod J passing through the breech-plug and capable of longitudinal movement therein, on the forward end of which a needle K is attached, bearing against the fulminate placed in the rear end of the cartridge. \Vhen this rod J is driven in, the forward end of the needle attached thereto, bearing against the fulminate, discharges the cartridge. As a means of protecting the fuhninate in the rear end of the cartridge, I have shown a sleeve L attached thereto and projecting beyond it.

Amongthe advantages incident to the use of dynamite as a substitute for gunpowder may be mentioned the fact that the length of the gun-barrel may be diminished on account of the more rapid ignition of the explosive, as the barrel must be long enough to insure the complete combustion of the explosive before the projectile is discharged from it.

As I have before said, gunpowder may thus be used as well as dynamite or other high explosive, and a saving thereby be effected in the weight of the gun, while its efiiciency is augmented and its life prolonged.

I have described my invention as applied to heavy ordnance; but it is apparent that it is applicable to all kinds of guns, and that the principle of myinvention may be utilized with many modifications as to detail, both in the construction of the gun and of the cartridge, without departing from its general principle, purpose, or design. I have said that I prefer to leave an air-space between the front end of the cartridge and the rear end of the projectile, and my object in doing this is to more efficiently apply to the projectile the force generated in the explosion; but such space is not essential, and may be, if desired, omitted.

The essential part of my invention is the protection by an elastic cushion-sueh as air-of the vulnerable parts of the gun from the effects of the intense heat and force generated at the instant of the explosion.

What I claim is-- 1. In a gun, the combination of a projectile, a cartridge of explosive material, a cushion of gas surrounding said cartridge and completely isolating it from the interior surfaces of the gun-barrel, and a supporting-frame by means of which the cartridge is held in position without contact with the walls of the gun-barrel, substantially as described.

2. In a gun, the combination of a projectile, a cartridge of high explosive material-such as dynamitea cushion of gas surrounding said cartridge and completely isolating it from the interior surfaces of the gun-barrel, and also from the projectile, and a supportingframe by means of which the cartridge is held in position, substantially as described.

CHARLES O. YALE. Witnesses:

T. FRANK BROWNELL, J. EDGAR BULL. 

